Interbrand reveals top U.S. retail brands for 2012

DAYTON, Ohio — While Walmart maintained the No. 1 position on Interbrand’s "U.S. Most Valuable Retail Brands" list for 2012, several other retailers are moving up the ranks.

Although Walmart touts a value that’s more than $139 billion, this year also marked a 2% decrease for the big box retailer, Interbrand said. Second on this year’s list was Target, which holds a value of $23 billion, a 1% increase over last year.

Meanwhile, CVS/pharmacy outshone fellow drug store chain competitor Walgreens, by moving up to the No. 4 spot to more than $17 billion, an increase of 5%. Walgreens held onto No. 6 on Interbrand’s list with a 4% increase in brand value to roughly $15 billion.

The list was rounded out by Sam’s Club (a 4% increase to $12.9 billion), Amazon (32% increase to $12.8 billion) and eBay (16% increase to $9.8 billion), which captured the No. 8, No. 9 and No. 10 spots, respectively.

"One of the most compelling lessons from the list is that the best brands didn’t stand idly by, waiting for further signs of recovery. They contributed to it by anticipating their customer’s desire to return — not to shopping as usual — but to something better," Interbrand Design Forum CEO Bruce Dybvad said. "For the most part, companies have invested in better store experiences and put more capabilities into the hands of their shoppers."

Walmart had a ‘great’ Christmas

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart’s U.S. stores division regained customer traffic during the fourth quarter to post a 1.5% same-store sales increase, and continues to gather momentum as familiar strategies and effective marketing are resonating with customers, the company said Tuesday morning in conjunction with the release of quarterly results.

Total sales increase by 5.8% to $122.3 billion, profits from continuing operations increased 3.4% to nearly $5.2 billion and earnings per share from continuing operations increased 7.5% to $1.44 from $1.34 if one-time gains are excluded from both reporting periods.

“We are pleased with Walmart’s earnings performance for both the fourth quarter and the full year,” Wal-Mart Stores president and CEO Mike Duke said. “Today, every segment of our business is stronger than it was a year ago, and we’re in a great position for fiscal year 2013.

As in the past, Duke asserted that Walmart remains the best positioned global retailer and touched on progress made in the United States where divisional president and CEO Bill Simon and chief merchandising officer Duncan Mac Naughton have spent the past year implementing a back-to-basic strategy focused on asserting price leadership, controlling expenses, enhancing product assortment and ensuring products are on shelves. Progress on all those fronts is why Duke said Walmart had a great Christmas and, “the plan that Bill and his team put in place a year ago was the right plan.”

Duke said Walmart would continue to lower prices in the coming year and that positive trends will continue.

“Our price leadership is making a difference across the United States, as many families are settling into a new normal. Core customers remain cautious about their finances, and they rely on Walmart’s EDLP promise to help them manage through today’s economic challenges.”

While the comps increase was noteworthy and toward the upper end of the company’s guidance range that called for flat to a 2% increased, the bigger deal was the increase volume of customers who shopped at Walmart during the quarter.

Simon said it was “the first positive traffic quarter in quite awhile,” thanks to the addition of 10,000 items to the product mix and advertising that effectively conveyed Walmart’s core value proposition of low prices on a broad and in-stock assortment of merchandise.

“Our business models is working and we continue to drive progress on three major front,” Simon said, referring to price leadership, expanded assortment and on-shelf availability.

During the year, Walmart added 119 supercenters and 27 small formats for a total of 9.6 million new sq. ft. This year, between 210 and 235 new units are planned with 80 to 100 of those being small formats, primarily Neighborhood Markets.

Looking abroad, Walmart’s international division also made a meaningful contribution to growth as sales increased 13.1% to nearly $35.5 billion.

Momentum continued as Sam’s Club where, excluding fuel, same-store sales increased 5.4% and total sales increased 5.4% to $12.6 billion.

For the year, Walmart’s sales increased 5.9% to $443.9 billion and full-year profits increased 2.7% to $15.8 billion. The company ended the year with 10,130 stores operating under 69 different banners in 27 countries and more than 2 million employees.

Hamacher Resource Group reports strong philanthropic drive

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Hamacher Resource Group on Tuesday announced its employees made a difference in 2011 by donating thousands of dollars to local and national charitable organizations.

The company has always had a strong emphasis on giving back to the community through donations and volunteerism, and offers employees multiple opportunities to participate in fundraising activities, such as casual days and potluck lunches. The HRG owners group believes in giving to organizations that employees are personally connected to and passionate about helping. Employees are encouraged to suggest organizations they would like considered and at the end of each year, everyone votes to decide how the money raised will be donated.

“We are fortunate to have generous employees who want to support organizations that are meaningful to their fellow associates,” HRG president Dawn Vogelsang said. “By providing fundraising opportunities that are fun to participate in, we not only give employees extra incentive to donate, it also brings us closer together as a company when we rally for a good cause.”

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